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Mushu
Mushu is a red dragon, and the main deuteragonist and comic relief from both Disney's 1998 feature film Mulan and its sequel. He is the titular character's closest companion throughout the Mulan series, acting as Mulan's guardian and protector. He has been voiced by Eddie Murphy in his first appearance and Mark Moseley afterwards. Background Mushu was once a guardian spirit of Mulan's family, but he had been demoted to the humiliating position of an incense burner and gong-ringer for the deceased Fa ancestors ever since he failed to protect a family member, a soldier named Fa Deng, resulting in the soldier's demise by decapitation (he's seen carrying his own head as a spirit). Personality In contrast to Mulan, Mushu is in most situations more comical, overconfident, funny and impulsive. He strives to be one of the family guardians again and selfishly decides to convince Mulan to join the army to turn her into a war hero, believing this will get him back on the "top shelf." However, he comes to realize how selfish he has been, admitting to Mulan that he risked her life to further his own goals. He then intends to take her home to face the consequences of his actions, but when she insists on stopping the Huns, Mushu loyally follows her, showing that underneath, he has a good heart. Mushu is rather sensitive about his size. He's also always paired with Cri-Kee, a supposedly lucky cricket originally belonging to Grandmother Fa. He serves as Mushu's polar opposite and sidekick. Together, the two are often at odds, with Cri-Kee, unlike Mushu, being incredibly selfless and cautious, whilst Mushu is often self-centered and impulsive. Even so, despite usually bickering whenever they're together, the two are apparently best friends deep down, and do appreciate each other, as well as save one another on various occasions, especially on Mushu's end, as Cri-Kee is usually too small to take care of himself. Development At first, Mulan's companions were to be two reptilian creatures; the idea of the creatures being dragons had not been established. However, feeling that two sidekicks would overcrowd the story, the animators then decided on a two-headed dragon, though they were green and grotesque. After the animators decided on a single-headed dragon, they established Mushu's physical concept. For better use, the animators shrunk Mushu to a smaller size. Around the time when the music of the film was to be created, the songwriters had written a piece for Mushu for him to sing to assure Mulan that he'll be there to help her. However, after Eddie Murphy came to voice the character, the character and his dynamic changed and the animators canceled the piece, although it was a favorite among the filmmakers. Attributes Mushu is based on a traditional Eastern dragon, which is radically different from Western dragons. Unlike their Western counterparts, Eastern dragons could control many elements and did not require wings to fly, and were portrayed as benevolent creatures, oftentimes respected as gods. Mushu's element however (presumably to reassure the viewers that he is a dragon) is fire. However, even the Great Ancestor himself does not consider Mushu to be a "real" dragon - he is very small, about the size of a lizard, and his fire-breathing ability is less than impressive, making him more useful as an emergency firelighter rather than as a weapon. As a mythical creature, Mushu is very durable, to the point of being seemingly immortal. He endures being stomped on, explosions, and an avalanche in the first movie. He can also understand other animals, as seen when he converses with Cri-kee, Mulan's lucky cricket, and her horse Khan. At one point when he disguises himself as a soldier riding a horse but cannot find a horse, he finds and persuades a panda bear. Mushu also claims that he has the ability to see straight through Mulan's armor (and presumably other things), but this is a one-off joke that is never brought up again. Appearances ''Mulan At the start of the film, Mushu does not make his official appearance until after Mulan runs away from home to serve in her elderly father Fa Zhou's place in a war against the deadly Hun army. Knowing that Mulan's exposure will lead to the disgrace of the Fa family, the spirits of the ancestors choose to send the Great Stone Dragon to simply bring her back safely. For the task of awakening him, they send Mushu, who is offended when he is not asked to find her himself. In the past, his actions in protecting the Fa family led to disaster. After several unsuccessful attempts at waking the Dragon, he ends up accidentally destroying the dragon statue. Cri-kee suggests that Mushu bring Mulan back safe instead so that he won't be punished, but Mushu decides to make his own plan and sets out to make Mulan a war hero, selfishly endangering her life. He meets her in a bamboo thicket overlooking the army camp. He poses as her powerful guardian though she is mildly impressed because of his small stature. They make their way for the camp where Mushu continuously gives Mulan (in the guise of Ping) advice on acting masculine. The advice eventually leads to a brawl which causes Mulan to become the most unpopular soldier at the camp. For the next couple of days, Mulan progresses along with the others in skills but the Emperor's adviser Chi-Fu feels the troops are still unqualified for the war. To keep his plan intact, Mushu creates a phony message alerting Captain Li Shang and the troops to head to the front immediately. After a run in with the Huns after he accidentally fired a cannon causing Li Shang and his troop's position given away to Shan Yu and the Huns and Mulan being injured by Shan Yu, Mulan's secret is discovered and she is left on a mountain summit as punishment. Mushu then takes the time to reveal the real reason he decided to help Mulan on her mission, but apologizes and promises to stay by her side no matter what. Just then, Mulan spots Shan Yu, the leader of the Huns, making way for the city. Mulan, Mushu, Cri-Kee, and Khan makes way to the city to warn Shang. At the Emperor's palace, Mulan battles Shan Yu and comes up with a plan. She leads him onto the roof where Mushu fires a rocket at the villain. Shan Yu is then blasted to the fireworks tower and is killed in the explosion. Mulan is deemed China's bravest warrior and Mushu regains his job. Mulan II In the sequel, Mushu serves as both the protagonist and (semi) antagonist. When Mulan prepares to marry Li Shang, Mushu is at first overjoyed to the point of tears, going as far as planning the wedding himself. However, things change once the ancestors tell him that if Mulan marries Shang, his family's guardians will take over for her, thus making Mushu a homeless dragon. Desperate to keep his job, he continuously tries to break the two apart to keep his position. After many failed attempts, he finally succeeds. However, Mushu begins to feel regret and eventually tells Mulan the truth. Aside from this, Mulan and Shang were meant to escort three princesses to a kingdom for an arranged marriage with a childish prince. The princesses fall in love with Yao, Ling, and Chien-Po with Mulan supporting it after Mushu's schemes. To prevent the princesses from marrying, Mulan agrees to marry the prince in their place. To redeem himself, and rescue Mulan, Mushu poses himself as the worshipped Golden Dragon of Unity and forces the king to cancel the marriage, allowing Mulan and Shang to marry as planned. Back at home, Mushu prepares to leave his pedestal and return to gong duty, but Mulan and Shang arrive at the temple and merge the family temples, thus allowing Mushu to keep his job. House of Mouse Mushu appears as a recurring guest in the animated series and is usually seen with Cri-Kee. Mushu is usually seen making a funny comment about a performance. In "House of Genius", Mushu expressed his annoyance with Donald's voice and after the staff was replaced with robotic counterparts, he claims the Robo-Donald to be much better than the real Donald, but later came to dislike the robots along with the other guests. In "House of Scrooge", Scrooge McDuck showcased his number one dime to the guests, but Mushu was unimpressed and thought of it more as a bottle cap. In "Chip 'n' Dale", Mushu was the only guest to help Pete finally open his bag of nuts. In "Dining Goofy", Goofy mixed up Mushu's order and gave him ice water, resulting in Mushu losing his fire-breathing abilities. Later, when the computers took over Goofy's waiting duties, he and Cri-Kee were served spicy Kung Pao chicken, which helped regain Mushu's fire-breathing abilities. In "Mickey and Minnie's Big Vacation", he blames Dragon Maleficent from for setting the place on fire. Once Upon a Time In the ABC fantasy/drama, Mushu does not appear. However, the personality, costume design and red smoke power of The Dragon (portrayed by Tzi Ma) in Season 2, a Chinese Healer established in Hong Kong and killed by Tamara, is reminiscent of Mushu. It's a Small World: The Animated Series In the animated mini-series, Mushu makes a brief, non-speaking cameo in the episode "Just One Moon". Video games [[Kingdom Hearts (series)|''Kingdom Hearts series]] Mushu plays a recurring role in the franchise serving a unique role as a summon in Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories, where he can appear to Sora by a card or gem and aid him in battle. His world does not appear in Kingdom Hearts, due to its destruction. Fortunately, after the conclusion of the game, his world is restored, and he returns to it. Mushu resumes the events of his world in Kingdom Hearts II continuing with Mulan on her journey, although not as a summon. However, he has a larger involvement in his world's storyline as a reprisal of his role from the film. ''Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion Mushu is one of the many captive Disney characters in the game, trapped in the Wasteland by an evil witch known as Mizrabel, along with Mulan. After being rescued, the warrior asks Mickey Mouse to find Mushu, which he does in the Castle South Hall. After being rescued, he retries to the Fortress with the other rescued Disney characters until eventually returning back home to the world of iconic Disney characters. Disney Parks Mushu appears at the Disney parks around the world. He can usually be seen with Mulan. Mushu has a spell card known as "Mushu's Fiery Breath" in the attraction Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. On the Disney Fantasy show ''Wishes, Mushu is alluded to at the end of Mulan's segment in the form of a Chinese "Dragon Dance" costume. At Disney's Wide World of Sports in Walt Disney World, Mushu, Mulan and Shan Yu participate in the Martial Arts Festival. Drawn to Animation Mushu appears in the Drawn to Animation presentation inside The Magic of Disney Animation at Disney's Hollywood Studios. In the show, Mushu and a Cast Member take the guests on a tour through Disney animation. During the course of the show, the animated background of Mushu is revealed. Mushu criticizes his former appearances and remembers his animators who he refers to as his friends. Fantasmic! Mushu appears in the floating bubble montage in Disney's Hollywood Studios' version of Fantasmic!. Disney Stars 'n' Cars Parade Mushu joins in the parade alongside Mulan at Walt Disney Studios Park in Paris. It's a Small World Mushu and Mulan appear in the Asia section of the ride. One can spot them in the kite-flying area. Quotes Mulan *"I LIVE!" *"So tell me what mortal needs my protection, Great Ancestor. You just say the word and I'm there." *"And let me say somethin'. Anybody who's foolish enough to threaten our family, vengeance will be miiiine!" * "...protect the family." *"I... ring the gong." *"One family reunion comin' right up. the other ancestors while banging a gong Okay, people, people, look alive. Let's go. Come on. Get up. Let's move it. Rise and shine. Y'all way past the beauty sleep thing, trust me." *laughs "Okay, okay, I get the Jif. I'll go." *"Well, y'all don't think I can do it! Watch this here! a tiny flame Ah-hah! Jump back, I'm pretty hot. But I don't have to singe nobody to prove no point." *"And your point is?" *"What? What? I'm a real dragon!" *"So you'll get back to me on the job thing. is hit in the face with his gong. Just one chance. Is that too much to ask? I mean, it's not like it'll kill you. the dragon statue Yo, Rocky, wake up! You gotta go fetch Mulan! C'mon, boy! Go get her! Go on! C'mon! climbs up on the statue, dragging the gong. Grr ... arrgh. Grr. Hello? Helloooo? HELLO! hits the ear of the dragon with the gong, and it falls off. Suddenly, the entire statue falls apart. Uh-oh ...Uh ... Stoney? Stoney ... Oh, man, they're gonna kill me!" *up the Great Stone Dragon's head, which is all that is left of him "Uh, uh, uh, uh... Yes, I just woke up. I'm... I'm the Great Stone Dragon. Good morning! I will go forth and fetch Mulan. Did... Did I mention that I was the Great Stone Dragon?" *"Don't even worry about it. I will not lose face! balance and rolls down the hill; the head of the Great Stone Dragon lands on top of him Oh, my elbow. Oh, oh. I know I twisted something." *"Go get her? What's the matter with you... After this Great Stone Humpty-Dumpty mess, I'd have to bring her home with a medal to be let back in the temple. Wait a minute! That's it! I'll make Mulan a war hero, and the ancestors will be begging me to come back. That's the master plan! Oh, you've done it now, man." *running "And what makes you think you're coming?" *"You're lucky? Do I look like a sucker to you? chirps again What you mean, a loser? How 'bout if I pop one of your antennas off, and throw it across the yard? Then who's the loser, me or you?" *"Did I hear someone ask for a miracle! Lemme hear ya say, "Aaah!"" *"That's close enough!" *"Get ready, Mulan! Your serpentine salvation is at hand! For I have been sent by your ancestors to guide you through your masquerade! So heed my word! 'Cause if the army finds out you're a girl, the penalty is DEATH!!" *"Who am I? Who am I? I am the guardian of lost souls! I am the powerful, the pleasurable, the indestructible Mushu! himself Oh. Ha, ha. Pretty hot, huh?" *"Dragon! DRAGON! Not lizard. I don't do that tongue thing." *"Intimidating? Awe-inspiring?" *"Of course! I'm travel size for your convenience!" *has just slapped him "All right! That's it! Dishonor! Dishonor on your whole family! (to Crik-Kee) Make a note of this: Dishonor on you! Dishonor on your cow!" *"Beautiful, isn't it?" *"No, they're men. And you'll have to act just like them, so pay attention." *"Now punch him - that's how men say hello." *"Chicken boy? Say that to my face, you limp noodle!" *Mulan "You know, we'll have to work on your people skills." *Speak-singing "This guy's got her scared to death!" *"Hey, this is not a good idea. What if somebody sees you?" *"So a couple guys don't rinse out their socks. Picky, picky, picky. Myself, I kinda like that corn-chip smell." *"Okay, all right, alright, that's enough, now c'mon, get out before you get all pruney and stuff." *"Yeah, yeah. and acting like a girl Stand watch, Mushu, while I blow our secret with my stupid girly habits. Pfft! Hygiene." *"We're doomed! There're a couple of things I KNOW they're bound to notice!" *"What a nasty flavor." *"No, that was vile! his teeth You owe me big!" *"Oh, no, you don't! I've worked too hard to get Mulan into this war! This guy's messing with my plans!" *"I saw that." *"You like him, don't you." *"Yeah, right, sure. GO TO YOUR TENT!" *Crickee "I think it's time we took this war into our own hands." *"Okay, lemme see what you've got. reads From General Lee. 'Dear Son, we're waiting for the Huns at the pass. It would mean a lot of you'd come and back us up.' Hmm. That's great, except that you forgot, 'and since we're out of popourri, perhaps you wouldn't mind bringing up some!' HELLO! This is the army! Make it sound a little urgent, please. You know what I'm talking about?" *"That's better, much better! Let's go!" *"Khanie, baby! Hey, we need a ride!" spits the water he was drinking at Mushu *"Urgent news from the General! Fu eyes the panda warily What's the matter? Never seen a black-and-white before?" *"Excuse me? I think the question is: who are YOU? We're in a war, man! There's no time for stupid questions! I should have your hat for that; snatch it right off your head! But I'm feeling gracious today, so, carry on before I report you!" *"Pack your bags, Crickee, we're moving out!" *"Oh, sure. Save the horse." *"Okay, you might want to light that right about now, Quickly, quickly!" is attacked by Shan Yu's hawk, and loses the match. *"You missed! How could you miss?! He was three feet in front of you!" *down the snow in a hubcap "Mulan!! Mulan! Mulan? pulls a Hun's head out of the snow. Nope. Mulan! reaches down and pulls out Crickee. Man, you are one lucky bug." *near Mulan and Shang "Mulan! I found a lucky cricket!" *Crickee "Nice, very nice! You can sit by me!" *"I knew we could do it! You the man! Well, sort of." *"I was this close. This close! To impressing the ancestors, getting the top shelf, in entourage ... man. All my fine work." uses the tip of an arrow to roast a piece of food over a tiny fire. *"Hi." *"Hey, c'mon you did it to save your father's life. Who knew you'd end up shaming him and disgracing your ancestors and losing all your friends. Y'know, you just gotta ... just gotta learn to let these things go." *"Hey, that's just cause this needs a little spit, that's all. spits on the helmet. Let me shine this up for you. I can see you, lookit you, you look so pretty! The truth is, we're both frauds. Your ancestors didn't send me; they don't even like me. I mean, you risked your life to help people you love. I risked your life to help myself. At least you had good intentions." *Cri-Kee "WHAT?! Whaddaya mean you're not lucky?! You lied to me?! nods sadly; Mushu turns to Kahn And what are you, a SHEEP?!" *"Yeah. This ain't gonna be pretty. But don't u worry, okay? Things will work out. We started this thing together and that's how we'll finish it. I promise." *"Uh, home is that way." *"Did you see those Huns? They popped out of the snow! LIKE DAISIES!" *"Let's go kick some Honey Bunch!" *"Huh? I'm sorry, did you say something?" *"Hey, you're a girl, again. Remember?" *burning Shan-Yu's hawk "Now that's what I call Mongolian barbecue." *"So what's the plan?" *"YOU DON'T HAVE A PLAN?" *"Way ahead of you, sister! C'mon, Crickee!" *"Citizens, I need firepower." *"Your worst nightmare." *a rocket strapped to his back "I am ready, baby! breaths fire on a stick and hands it to Crickee. Light me!" *"Ahahahahahaha! catches Crickee You are a lucky bug!" *"My little baby is all grown up and saving China! Crickee Do you have a tissue?" *Great Ancestor "Who did a good job? C'mon, tell me who did a good job." *"AAAAAHHH-HAAAAAAAA!!! Whoohoohoohoohoooo!" *"Take it, Crickee!" plays a set of drums, and all the ancestors dance. *"Call out for egg rolls!" ''Mulan II'' *Mulan's engagement "Oh, what a happy, happy day! My little baby's gettin' married!" *"Hey, where ever you go I go, girl!" *"I seems like only last month, you and me were fightin' off the Huns and saving China!" *behind a wheelbarrow as Mulan and Shang come by on their horses "This is gonna be delicious!" *a perfect voice imitation of Mulan on a dummy outside Shang's tent "General Shang? General Hardhead, that's what they should call him! Everything's got to have a strategy!" *sounding like Mulan "The man won't brush his teeth without a backup plan!" * imitating "I blame myself. I fell for those broad shoulders. I didn't realize there wasn't much sittin' on top of 'em!" dummy's head falls off accidently, then Mushu gasps as he places it back on *"Oh, except for that garlic breath... longer imitating Ooh-whee! That boy can peel paint! Oops!" covers his mouth *to cry "Oh, that did it!" *"I just got some exfolitating cream in my eye!" ''Kingdom Hearts II'' *"I am Mushu." *"See that, Mulan? It's Shan-Yu, leader of the Hun army! C'mon, girl. This is your big chance!" *"I can see it now: "Fa Mulan whups public enemy number one!" You gonna be famous! I'm talkin' A-list!" *"That's right, I know you heard of me! I'm little, lethal, and legendary! Now y'all scram before I get my dragon dander up!' *"Yeah, well you better HOPE I miss YOU, or else you're---you're... Sora! Donald! Goofy!" *"Know them? Man, we used to kick all kinds of bad guy butt together! Yeah, you know, I helped these guys out of a lot of tight spots. 'Cause I'm a mighty dragon! Right?" *"And that puts you three up to your eyeballs in debt to Ping here." *"See, Ping here was just on his way to join the Imperial army." *"I don't know---those two would fall for anything." *"Remember, girl---manly!" *"Who you callin' a shrimp, panda lips? I'm a bona fide guardian dragon!" *"Okay, girl! Here's your chance! I just saw this real shady guy. And I know it's Shan-Yu." *"So, let's go find out where Shan-Yu is, by ourselves. Then, if we're lucky, we can fry him up good! Though just tracking the guy down should earn us our stars... Captain Musclehead will have to notice my girl!" *"What? What is it?" *"Please! That Hun is old news! We're gonna tell the Captain how thousands of Heartless stormed the cave, and Ping took out almost every one of 'em!" *"Me, hey, whoa! Whoa! Wait a second! Ah!" *"You're going the wrong way!" *"First she uses me as a lighter, then she turns me into a cannon ball. The head ancestor's gonna hear about this. You know, that's it! I give up! I can't take this no more. C'mon, Mulan. Let's quit this charade and go home, girl." *"You know, your daddy's gonna be steamed as a chicken dumpling." *"Now that's what I call burning some hunny-bun! Aw, yeah! Mulan's the best! Mulan's the best! No, wait a minute---I'm the best! Mushu's the best! Mushu's the best!" *"Now they GOTTA let me go back to bein' a guardian! They GOTTA!" *"You know, I just didn't wanna bog y'all down with all a guardian's deeds. See, they're very complex, a lot of fine print. You wouldn't understand." Gallery Trivia *Along with Mulan, Mushu is the most iconic and popular character from Mulan. *In the Disney Princess franchise, Mushu is the only sidekick of a Disney Princess to have a more significant role than the love interest along with the Seven Dwarfs in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Jaq and Gus in Cinderella. *In deleted scenes, we see that Mushu is not only charismatic but has an amazing singing voice. He even had his own song named "Keep 'em Guessing." *If "Keep 'em Guessing" wasn't deleted, Mushu would've been the second animal friend of a Disney Princess to have a song of his own (the first being Sebastian, the third being Louis). *In deleted scenes, Mushu calls Mulan by various nicknames including "Miss", "Doll", "Babe", "Mademoiselle" and "Sweetcakes". *In House of Mouse, we learn that his favorite foods are Kung Pao chicken and fresh roasted nuts. Drinking iced water prohibits his ability to breathe fire for a little while. *Mushu bears a resemblance to Melty from Lilo & Stitch: The Series in both appearance and color. However, unlike Melty, Mushu lacks wings. *Throughout the movie, Mushu refers to Khan as a "cow," and yet only once, after the Hun archers attack the cart carrying cannons with fire arrows and destroy it, Mushu says to Mulan, "Oh, sure. Save the horse." *Mushu is one of the several Disney characters to break the fourth wall, others include Genie and Donald Duck. In Kingdom Hearts, Mushu pulls out a manga and realizes that he was cut from the first book, and in the film, when looking for Mulan during the avalanche sequence of the Tong Shao Pass, he sees some hair in the snow and, thinking it's Mulan, pulls out what is really a Hun and quickly puts him back under the snow, sheepishly saying "Nope!" to the audience. *According to Disneystrology, Mushu's birthday would be November 27th. 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